Working with Karen was great, she was hugely supportive, knowledgeable and helpful. Additionally, I got into my top choice and I am thrilled about that. Would absolutely recommend working with Karen in the future. She responded quickly, happily answered all of my questions, and had a lot of background on the program and plenty of insights into the strategy for managing applications and prioritizing programs. So thankful to Karen for all of her support and insight during this lengthy and time consuming process. Really appreciated all of the help during the application process because there were moments when it was challenging and difficult.

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I was hesitant to pay the hefty price tag for the full package with Fortuna, but they have delivered over and above what I expected.

I was lucky to work with Melissa Jones who has unparalleled insight into the admissions process which is clear in her invaluable feedback on the essays.

However, I believe that Melissa's true strength as a coach was her ability to get me through the self-doubt, writer's block and the numerous other obstacles that had almost caused me to give up on the application entirely.

Melissa showed a balance of patience and persistent encouragement, intuitively knowing to send amazing motivational videos and mental hacks that helped me work through the things that were holding me back.

With her support, I actually ended up enjoying the application process and was very proud of the final result. I also got admitted into my dream school!

I could not have asked for a better coach.

She genuinely cared, was very insightful and knowledgeable, and showed diligent attention to the slightest detail.

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I enrolled with Fortuna admissions to help with my applications to MBA at INSEAD and LBS. I found their consulting service very professional and organized. Nonie Mackie was assigned as my coach and she worked with me on my applications over a period of 3 months. Nonie was especially approachable and is a very passionate individual. She made it very easy for me to work with her, allowing flexible timings for our meetings and usually with a quick response time. She was very persistent in getting the best efforts out of me in terms of the right stories and in organizing and structuring the content for essays to suit the admission criteria of the school. Nonie gave very honest feedback on the application and was in full control of all the aspects from resume to interview prep. Yet another positive aspect about Nonie is that she goes an extra mile to pull out information and reference materials that helps with the application. Overall I am very pleased with the coaching Nonie provided me and with the services of Fortuna Consulting.

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I am from a non-traditional MBA background and believed a coach is necessary to help me navigate the highly competitive and complex process of MBA application.
Thanks to Nicola, Matt and Caroline, the journey was instead really enjoyable.

I chose Fortuna because of the recommendation from a good friend and the fact that, as ex staff from INSEAD, some of the coaches have deep insights about my dream school.

Nicola and I are in nearby time zones across the Tasman Sea(AU and NZ), allowing the communications being very timely and convenient.

As I said, the entire process was very well planned with a clear timeline. I was able to focus on tasks in hand and knew everything is under control. There are specific tools and guidance for each step along the way. For example, the initial comprehensive questionnaire was extremely valuable as a tool for self-reflection and gathering material for essays.

For the whole time, Nicola was extremely helpful. She had enlightened me to discover the meaningful stories of my life. In terms of the application, the essays and forms were carefully reviewed by Nicola and Caroline for dozens of times. Nicola also helped me with interviews and the scholarship application.

In summary, Nicola is a great coach and I highly recommend anyone choosing her and Fortuna Admissions. Without their help, I probably wouldn't survive the admission competition and eventually receive an offer from INSEAD. A big thank you to the team.

Lastly, I have to mention the Youtube channel and the website of Fortuna Admissions, which are great resources for MBA applications.

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I do not come from a typical background for MBA programs and thus had little clue about the whole application process. Moreover, my work was quite demanding and thus I did not actually have much time to write the essays.

Nicola exceeded my expectations. Due to my busy schedule, not only that she always came back to me within 1-2 days (including weekends on odd hours!!!), but throughout the whole application process I actually realized that I also got to learn how to present and write about myself in a humble yet very competent way. The whole process for me was truly a coaching experience and was not just a mean to get the application submitted.

She always remembered even very little details about my whole profile which has helped me connect the dots to write cohesive essays.

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Consultant: Karen Ponte.

I was applying to EMBA to top two European Business schools. The competition is fierce there, so I wanted to have a consultant.

I was not sure what consultant to choose, so based on the feedback in the internet and from my friend I peaked several consultants for the first free consultations.

With Fortuna, Everything started from 40 mins free conversation with Matt. Matt had so much experience and info about schools. the conversation was absolutely incomparable with other consultants that I peaked.

So I decided to stick with Fortuna and took a full package for one particular school. Fortuna provided me a consultant that worked before in that school. That school was my main priory in the beginning between the two that I chose. However after events in those schools my main target has changed. Fortuna was really flexible and they kindly provided me another consultant instead- Karen Ponte.
Karen is just amazing, with no exaggeration! Karen used to work in that school, so she knew not just the process or what I need to show, she actually new people and so many small details about application process and essays.
I honestly believe that If I didn't have Karen, I would never be accepted to my Dream school. After first conversation I understood, that Karen is really experienced in that process. Karen was flexible and really quick with all the advises on the story and changes in my essays. Importantly, I had only around 3 weeks for the whole application process. so we started quickly from References, and Karen pointed exact sides of my profile (knowing it and discussing it with me) that should be highlighted by Referees. Karen has amazing drafting skills, and she really improved my essays.
When I got an appointment with Admission for the school, we went through everything. Karen helped me to build the right story in the presentation.
After I was admitted and got the offer, which I happily accepted, Karen helped me with Scholarship.
Karen had conversations with me almost daily, and responded always on the same day. It was so important for me, as I am full-time employee with sometimes demanding schedule.
I am really thankful to Karen and I highly recommend her.

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Julie was exceptional. As candidate from a small firm and a tier two liberal arts college, Julie worked diligently to help me stand out in wholly unexpected ways. She showed me how a weekend hobby wasn’t just a hobby, but a way to make my candidacy standout.
Where Julie shines is the essay. About five times, per essay I’d find myself stuck, but each time Julie was there with some wild idea that was just enough to get me going. She diligently edited the barrage of drafts I threw at her. The essays we produced were the cornerstone of my application. Admissions officers from three separate programs highlighted my essays as the key strength of my application.
Like working with any great coach, if you put in the work, you will see outstanding results.

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Yes, as mentioned in previous reviews, Melissa certainly has unparalleled insight into the admissions process which is clear in her invaluable feedback on the essays.

However, I believe that Melissa's true strength as a coach was her ability to get me through the self-doubt, writer's block and the numerous other obstacles that had almost caused me to give up on the application entirely.

Melissa showed a balance of patience and persistent encouragement, intuitively knowing to send amazing motivational videos and mental hacks that helped me work through the things that were holding me back.

With her support, I actually ended up enjoying the application process and was very proud of the final result. I also got admitted into my dream school!

I could not have asked for a better coach.

She genuinely cared, was very insightful and knowledgeable, and showed diligent attention to the slightest detail.

Melissa, it was wonderful to work with you. Thank you so much!

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I can’t imagine what the application process would have been like without the Fortuna team. They made everything tangible, and much more enjoyable even from the first call. The entire process was an adventure in itself and helped me gain a better understanding of myself including my strengths and weaknesses as well as my goals. I worked with both Melissa Jones and Emma Bond- a great duo. They are both extremely professional and helpful, had great insights on the process, paid great attention to detail and knew how to position my profile in the best way possible. They went above and beyond to help me prepare for my interviews and always available for questions. I know I was successful with my applications because of Fortuna and am extremely thankful I made the decision to work with them. I highly suggest working with them.

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Cannot speak highly enough about Fortuna! Throughout my application process, Julie was supportive and provided excellent guidance. She helped me refine my "story" and weave it throughout each of my applications in a way that would appeal to each school. She is very knowledgeable, dedicated, and keeps things fun! I would strongly recommend Julie to anyone looking to apply to top-tier schools.

One of my favorite aspects of working with Fortuna was the mock Wharton interview. I was fortunate to do two mock group interviews before my real one, giving me the confidence I needed.

Thank you, Julie, for all of your help!

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